Incidents such as Saturday’s building collapse in Mellieħa would be less likely to happen if a proposed architects’ reform was enforced, according to the chamber of architects. 

A magisterial inquiry and a police investigation have been launched to determine the cause of the collapse of a three-storey Mellieħa building. Photo: Jonathan Borg

Andre Pizzuto, who drafted the reform published by Kamra tal-Periti last month, said the likelihood of such events happening once the proposed framework is in place would be minimal. 

He was reacting to the news that a building next door to a construction site had collapsed early on Saturday.

Briton Maggie Smith, 77, was lucky to survive with slight injuries when the three-storey Mellieħa building came down in the early morning.

She had been asleep in the top floor apartment when the side of the building came crashing down, her bed just a couple of metres away from a three-storey drop. 

Ms Smith was treated for shock but was released from hospital later in the day. 

Next door to the collapsed building, other houses had been demolished, the ground excavated for basement level garages, and shops and overlying apartments are now under construction.

A magisterial inquiry and a police investigation have been launched to determine the cause of the collapse.

Although the facts of the case were still emerging, KTP said it was evident this incident and similar ones in the past months were a symptom of the ‘chaos’ that prevailed in the construction industry.

READ: Developer: I don’t know what could have caused the Mellieħa building collapse

The Kamra tal-Periti has been calling for a complete overhaul of building regulatory systems since 2007, and even though the government has announced that it will reform the sector, progress remains slow. 

At the end of 2018, the government had proposed the setting up of a Building and Construction Authority, a proposal which the chamber had supported – however this is still in the early stages of formulation and is not envisaged to be established before the end of the year.

Just last month, the chamber issued detailed proposals for a modern building and construction regulation framework. 

The only proposal that had so far been announced by the authorities since the collapse of another building in Gwardamanġia last April, KTP said, was a possible scheme that appeared to be merely intended to tie contractors to a code of ethics on a purely voluntary basis rather than strengthening the regulatory system.

“Delay is not an option. The industry is in crisis. We have a complete lack of regulation of contractors, a complete lack of adequate competencies among the workforce, confusion about the various roles and responsibilities on construction sites, building regulations which date back to the 19th century, as well as a serious lack of enforcement. Unless we take immediate action, matters will only get worse,” the chamber said.

In view of this, KTP said it had requested an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to discuss a way forward.

The meeting is expected to take place this week.